Jonathan S. Bedi

Jonathan S. Bedi represents clients in federal and state courts, from the first target letter or grand jury subpoena through trial, sentencing, and appeals.

Jonathan founded Bedi & Singer, LLP with Dena Singer, after years of trying cases together. They still handle every matter as a team. Both partners shape the strategy, both partners appear in court, and clients work directly with the lawyers they hired.

Trial work and investigations

His federal and white-collar practice includes wire and mail fraud, healthcare fraud, mortgage fraud, bribery, public corruption, obstruction of justice, and racketeering. In Illinois state court, he defends clients charged with murder, sexual assault, and other violent felonies. He also represents executives, physicians, professional athletes, religious leaders, and students in internal investigations and misconduct allegations, often resolving them before they become public.

Jonathan has won not guilty verdicts in jury and bench trials, won pretrial motions, obtained dismissals of criminal charges, and negotiated resolutions that kept clients out of custody. Some of his most important results came before any charge was filed, in investigations that ended without an indictment. Jonathan has cross-examined emergency physicians, pediatric neurosurgeons, pharmacologists, and cause-of-death experts, which matters when the government’s case depends on medical testimony.

Recognition and professional memberships

He is Past President of the Chicago Inn of Court, a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, widely regarded as the country’s most prestigious organization of criminal defense attorneys, with membership limited by rigorous peer review, investigation, and vetting.

Jonathan routinely receives honors and awards for his legal work, including The Best Lawyers in America for White-Collar Criminal Defense, Illinois Super Lawyers every year since 2022, Emerging Lawyer and then Leading Lawyer every year since 2017, and Chicago Lawyer and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s 40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch. He has twice received the Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Teaching and community involvement

He has taught trial advocacy at Notre Dame Law School since 2014 and speaks regularly on cross-examination, pretrial litigation, and jury selection. Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Chicago and his Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law, where he was a Marshall-Brennan Fellow.

He has served on the Chicago Council of the American Writers Museum and the board of the Roseland chapter of CeaseFire. He lives in Chicago with his wife, two kids, and a pit bull named Sue Bird.